Over 25,000 flats are ready in Noida, but buyers can’t move in

NOIDA: Their flats are ready, but over 25,000 homebuyers are unable to secure possession, because the projects either lack certification of fire- and structural- safety, and/or the builders are yet to pay up all pending dues with Noida and Greater Noida authorities. The Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (Credai-NCR) has claimed most of these completed flats are now hanging fire because of pending dues, such as compensation to farmers from whom the land was acquired, whose negotiations with authorities are still on. The builders confirmed there are about 25,000 such flats in the twin cities, whose buyers will have to wait till completion certificates are granted.

However, the authorities claim while some flats have been delayed because of pending dues, most have not been cleared for not having fire- and structural- safety certificates. For financial dues, Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority (GNIDA) claimed to have offered payment reschedules to all such builders who have come forth with requests. “We had close to 130 builders who had defaulted. To 30 of them, we have offered payment reschedule options. However, most projects whose completion certificates we have withheld, is because they lack fire safety and/or structural safety certifications. If the builder is facing a financial crunch, we have flexible options for them to pay back. We’ve also started a temporary occupation certificate offer, under which a builder can secure permission to sub-lease their property to the buyer by making some portion of the payment. However, till now, we’ve had only two builders showing up for it,” said Narendra Bhooshan, CEO, GNIDA. Through 2018, Noida Authority awarded completion certificates to over 12,000 apartments, while the figure for GNIDA stood at over 40,000 apartments. Credai-NCR estimates that by 2019, the twin cities could have 42,000 apartments completed and ready for handover, while the figure for Gurgaon could be 15,000. However, the figures would be dependent on the cash-flow status of the developers.

“Over 50,000 apartments should be ready for handover by December 2019 in Noida, Greater Noida and Gurgaon. If the builders can borrow from their buyers, the former could deliver as per Rera commitments. But, lending to realtors is not a high priority for buyers, and there could be an unforeseen cash-flow issue for builders, which could slow down some projects,” said Pankaj Bajaj, president, Credai-NCR. A recent study conducted by Mumbai-based real estate researchers Anarock showed at present, NCR has 2 lakh unsold flats. Credai members are optimistic the unsold stock will be picked up during the course of this year. “Apartments in unsold category will be picked up through 2019, but it’s for the government and authorities to oversee that builders can continue to construct and have access to funds to do so,” Bajaj added.